


It's Only Life, After All

by sophinisba



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Community: merlinblitz, Dialogue Heavy, F/F, Femslash, Lazy Mornings, Professors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-30
Updated: 2014-03-30
Packaged: 2018-01-17 13:44:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1389883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophinisba/pseuds/sophinisba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College professors on a Sunday morning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Only Life, After All

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "undercover/under the covers" at merlinblitz. Title from the Indigo Girls song "Closer to Fine".

"God," Morgana moaned, " _how_ can it be the end of the weekend already?"

"It's not the end yet, you've still got all day today to catch up."

"Says the woman who only teaches Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"I have lab work and meetings all week long and you know it. But cheer up, dear, Sundays are an excellent opportunity for anyone to get ahead. You still have hours and hours of grading to look forward to."

Morgana pulled the blanket over her own scowling face, and immediately felt much better. Morgause's silk sheets and chenille blankets enveloped her more gently and lovingly than Morgause herself was ever able to do -- not that Morgana didn't like it rough sometimes too. But this morning, ah, this morning, couldn't it just go on like this, with soft touches and sex-sore muscles and yellow sunlight through the windows? Must this morning really insist on becoming this day?

"Morgause, if I just stay under the covers all day won't the papers grade themselves?"

"Have the students grade each other next time. Take some responsibility for their own education."

"Yes, I'm sure that will go over well with the dean."

"What, you're going to let a dinosaur like Uther Pendragon dictate your pedagogy? Really, Morgana, for a woman with an advanced degree in feminist thought you could have a little more backbone."

"Tenure must be nice."

"Thank you," said Morgause, sitting down in the chair by the window with her coffee and a newspaper, because she was old fashioned like that. "It's glorious."

"I hate you and your generational privilege."

"You _desire_ us."

"That too. Your hot body, a fair shot at a decent job, and some coffee."

"There's a full pot on the counter."

Morgana curled her toes and took in a few more deep breaths, letting the covers slide against her skin before she looked for her slippers and trudged into the kitchen.

***

She allowed herself to drink the first cup in peace before she started in on the routine of checking first her personal email, then the one from Camelot University (where she taught Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), then Avalon (where she'd met Morgause and where they both taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays), and finally the Albion Technical College (a three-hour class on Thursday evenings). Luckily, no real emergencies had arisen overnight, and she sorted the student questions she'd respond to today from the requests for meetings and reports she could deal with tomorrow, discarding administrative nothings along with the notices of the kinds of lectures and workshops she'd actually like to attend but hadn't had the time for since grad school.

"I shouldn't stay the night here, I never get any work done while I'm with you."

"Of course you do. The light's better here, and it's quieter. You could drop the Internet connection at your place if you wanted."

"Sure."

"Hell, you might as well give up that ugly little apartment. With the money you'd save you could give up the Camelot job, get those hypocrites out of your life."

"I can't burn any bridges until I have a permanent full-time gig somewhere, and I can't give up my own place until I have a grownup relationship that makes some fucking sense. But thanks for the advice!"

"You'll feel better once you have some eggs."

Morgana silently recognized that this was true.

***

Prepping for Monday's classes might have been easier, Morgana thought, if she had all her books with her, except that her own apartment really was dark and loud and cramped and full of distractions that were less worthy of her time than Morgause's perfect skin. Hmmm, Morgana thought about that for a bit.

Prepping in her own office at work would be nice, but Morgana had yet to be given her own office at any of these jobs - so far Avalon was the only school where she didn't have to share a desk with other adjuncts.

Prepping for Monday's classes might have been easier if she didn't keep picturing the calculating squint of her student Vivian, who had explained to Morgana that an A minus was truly an unacceptable grade for her paper, or the arrogant grin of Dean Pendragon's son, who never even pretended to have done the reading. 

"What the hell do I know about standpoint epistemology?" she murmured, letting the O key make a cheerful string of surprised mouths across the page.

"More than they do!" said Morgause from her own work area. "Let it be enough."

"You know, I bet impostor syndrome would be easier to take if I actually were an impostor."

"You mean if you were really a secret agent just fronting as a college professor in order to ... what, get close to the Pendragon family secrets?"

"Exactly!"

"From what I've observed of your nightmares you have enough stress in your life, Morgana. I wouldn't want you to add the danger of having your cover blown and getting shot."

Morgana shrugged, and pouted. "I just wish I could feel like there was _something_ that I was really good at."

"I can think of a few of those."

"Can we go back to bed, Morgause?"

"I meant teaching, by the way. How close are you to being caught up?"

"I will never ever ever be caught up."

"Do you need to go back to your place tonight?"

Morgana sighed. Morgause smiled.

"Then you've got all the time in the world."


End file.
